Top 10 IT stories this week: Win 10 Mobile, Satellite of Musk, and Lloyds TSB data theft

Computing's most-read stories of the past week. Stories so big you can see 'em from space

Here they are again: our seven most popular stories from the past seven days.

7. Smart grids and the Internet of Things: Open Energi looks to spark a new energy market

By allowing appliances to adjust the power they draw automatically according to the supply, companies can make big savings and even sell power back to the Grid.

6. The power of open source: From Postgres to Cassandra at First Utility

More power, this time to the elbow of First Utility CIO Bill Wilkins who has driven an open-source agenda in the face of board scepticism, first with Postgres and now with Cassandra.

"I had to remove that fear, uncertainty and doubt from the executive team members and the board team that it was a risky strategy," he says.

5. 'Elon Musk’s space internet project officially submitted to FCC

What is it with billionaires and space? Paypal and Tesla maestro Elon Musk plans to launch a series of satellites to beam down the internet from on high. Will it work? Our panel of experts* have their doubts. Still, makes a change from having your head cryogenically frozen I suppose...

*Not really.

4. How the SSCL contract debacle shows government departments aren’t pulling in the same direction

Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL), a joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Sopra Steria, has won government contracts left, right and centre, but its success in delivering on its promises is questionable, and the projects themselves have more than a whiff of the bad old days of public-sector outsourcing, says Sooraj Shah.

3. New Windows 10 Mobile release hints at 6 October event reveal. And will Surface Pro 4 be there too?

Another week, another Microsoft product announcement ... or is it two? Truly they spoil us.

2. Old-style software vendors will be dumped, warns University of Dundee CTO Paul Saunders

Saunders doesn't pull his punches when it comes to certain software vendors and their tactics.

"There's the old way of, 'we're going to sell you some licences and we're going to charge you 22 per cent for maintenance each year and if you don't [pay for maintenance], we'll come in and audit you'. There's vendors that still do that," he tells Danny Palmer, adding that the university doesn't want to work with such suppliers any more.

"Going forward, we're only working with companies that are interested in helping us become Scotland's leading university, not just helping themselves to our funds"

1. Lloyds TSB customers' personal data stolen from RSA's data centre

A storage device containing Lloyds TSB customer data has gone missing from one of Royal Sun Alliance's (RSA) data centres, the bank has admitted. The device contained names and addresses, bank account and sort code details. RSA is currently investigating the theft and has offered free assistance to affected customers.